Shanghai has grown more interesting and more cosmopolitan!
I’ve been to Shanghai many times over the years (Fifteen times, to be specific!!) and seen many changes through that time. My last visit was pre-pandemic, so it was good to visit Shanghai and Taicang again.
I was able to visit The Bund again at night and it was great to see.
The Shanghai Pearl TV Tower was beautiful to see across the river.
Walking on the broad riverside walk was more pleasant as the crown was more cosmopolitan and younger, with foreigners mixed in, and the crown felt more cultured and with less “unpleasant mannerisms of the past”.
From The Bund we walked towards the Nanjing Road shopping street. I was more impressed with the shops this time, with a number of big brand luxury watch boutiques and luxury fashion brands.
As I stayed over the weekend I had the chance to visit Nanjing Road Shopping street in the daytime.
The street scenes were reminiscent of downtown Stockholm, according to my daughter when she saw the pictures. And indeed the area had a European feel to it, particularly as the daytime temperatures were cold and hovering around 8C during the time.
It’s interesting to see the shops as some name brands would sell different items compared to Singapore or Bangkok, specially winter-fitted clothing.
The hotel I stayed at was The Courtyard by Marriott, Shanghai Pudong. It was interesting to see there is now a huge mall right across it, aside from the nearby 3-level mall with mostly restaurants at the back of The Courtyard that was already there before.
And access to the subway is now more convenient as you could pass through the mall to connect to the subway.
The subway itself also looks much better and has much more trim connections. The ticket machines are also easier to use and it’s a much friendlier experience to use the subway trains, even for non-Chinese visitors. Again I could feel a more cosmopolitan crowd.
So overall it was great to visit Shanghai again. Above is a scene from the lobby of the Courtyard by Marriott, Shanghai Pudong, a very good option when staying at Shanghai.
To view scenes from Shanghai in 2015, see this post:
That’s it for now! Take care!
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